Salsa
by Tegypte
Summary: Salsa. A fiery name for a heated Dance. Songfic Zutara


**Disclaimer: I DO NOT own Avatar!! I mean, really! Does it LOOK like Zukos shirtless to you?! xD**

**(Or 'Why into the Night' by Carlos Santana and Chad Kroeger)**

"C'mon, Zuko! PLEASE?" Caramel colored hands clasped in front of a blue- clad form in a pleading way "PLEEEASE?" Blue eyes seemed to almost grow larger in the effect of begging

"No" crossed arms, a marred face trying desperately to ignore the look

"Just one?" her lower lip began to tremble and the Fire Lord's eye began to rebel and twitch

"I already told you,I. don't. Dance" he groaned when he heard an almost indiscernible sniffle. Massaging the bridge of his nose for a moment he turned to her

"Fine. But just this on-"he was cut off when he was jerked away with a happy little squeal from the conniving waterbender responsible. An upbeat song started as soon as they entered the center of the floor

"I love this song!" She said while Zuko was shifting uncomfortably and glancing around the room, looking for a familiar face. He _really _didn'tknow how to dance, and thus, he was hoping to spot someone he knew and get at least a vague idea. Sokka and Suki where off…_moving_ was Zukos choice of words, and he highly doubted that Katara would be as forgiving as Suki when it came to constantly stepping on her feet and Sokka…He looked like a fish, to put it bluntly. Zuko shook his head softly and looked elsewhere '_He's a worse dancer than me'_ Aang had (somehow) dragged Toph onto the floor, though she didn't look very…pleased. Especially since he was practically dancing by himself, grabbing her forearms suddenly and swinging her around the room with him, laughing. Toph about to scream obscenities. Looking away abruptly to avoid seeing the bloodshed of the monk, he found himself looking directly down into the very cerulean eyes that where watching him.

"What?" he half-demanded. What right did she have, looking at him with those eyes?! Clucking her tongue and shaking her head softly she strode closer to him, swinging her hips softly all the while

"Fine, you don't have to dance with me" he raised his brow in confusion, not noticing that her hand still had a firm grip on his forearm. Standing up on her tiptoes she whispered softly in his ear, making him shiver slightly

"_Spar_ with me instead"

He was suddenly very aware of how close they where, and when she backed away with a small smile and let go of his arm, he suddenly wished she hadn't. He caught on when she slid into of her favorite fighting poses with a stream of water the length of her hand floating In front of her. He went into an easy stance, igniting a miniature fire in his palm. Then the words started playing

_Like a gift from the heavens, it was easy to tell,  
it was love from above, that could save me from hell,_

They where light footed at first, barely touching as they moved, one with grace, and one with controlled finesse. He controlled his tiny flame much like she did her miniature water whip, they circled each other, hands crossing and elements swirling

_She had fire in her soul it was easy to see,  
How the devil himself could be pulled out of me_,

He saw the smirk on her face, and told himself that this was bad. Ignoring, of course, his hearts entirely different response

_There were drums in the air as she started to dance,  
Every soul in the room keeping time with their hands_,

Neither of them seemed to notice or care about the people that started to stop dancing and stare at the fire lord and his dance partner, not the least of them being the other four that Zuko himself had been observing moments ago.

Suddenly Katara made the first move, sending a strike to the scarred side of his face, only to have him push her hand away in a quick movement and slide his body directly behind her. He made his flame caress her face, never touching, when she grabbed his wrist. Before the flame could reach her jaw she had already lifted herself up, using his shoulder, and spun in the air with his one shoulder as leverage and landed behind him

_And the voices rang like the angels sing,  
we're singing…  
Ay oh ay oh ay oh ay,  
and we danced on into the night,  
Ay oh ay oh,  
and we danced on into the night,_

Aang had to keep pinching himself to make sure he wasn't dreaming. Suki was trying, and failing, to hide her wide smile behind her hand, Iroh was spinning around and chanting something remotely like 'Grandbabies' over and over, and Sokka was grudgingly shoving a handful of, was that gold?, into a certain grinning earthbenders hand. The Avatar just shook his head. This_ had_ to be a dream.

_Like a piece to the puzzle that falls into place,  
You could tell how we felt from the look on our faces,_

Zuko placed one hand on her shoulder behind him, grabbing the other and spinning her into a tight circle, right into his arms, and bent her backwards and himself forwards into a dip, his left arm holding her back up whilst the other hand was centimeters from her face, his small flame sandwiched between his pale hand and her smooth caramel skin, tracing the path of his palm, but again, never touch. Their noses nearly bumped and sweat drops where barely visible on both's faces. The move was slow, but short when he jerked her back up.

_We were spinning in circles with the moon in our eyes;  
the room left them moving between you and me,_

Her hands landed on his chest, so close with his arm tight around her back that she would only have to move her head the _tiniest _bit and she would be kissing him

And he _really _wished she would.

She spun herself away from him, his outstretched arm the only connection on her, when she grinned and her little bit of water slid up his arm, making him grin in turn and grab her other hand, both of them spinning the opposite way and twisting their hands above them, then gracefully twisting back

_We forgot where we were and we lost track of time,  
and we sang to the wind as we danced through the night,_

They forgot everything, why they were here, the party, what the party was _for_, all but the other person. They swapped their elements, twisting and spinning around each other in such perfect sync but different style. Katara moved like her water, twisting and turning around and into the Flame, always touching, never burning, while Zuko stayed steady, perhaps making a sudden move before reaching back.

After all, that's what flames did,

_**They kept reaching**_**. **

And the water did what she did best.

_**She kept giving**_

_Like a gift from the heavens, it was easy to tell,  
it was love from above, that could save me from hell,_

He loved her, had for a while, though it had taken him some time to realize it. At first he only thought that it was a crush, but now, watching her twist and spin to and from him, feeling their hands staying within his, he finally understood. She gave a look in her eyes to match her smiling face and his heart gave a jerk, his hands too, but he smoothed that out by pulling her too him and twisting her around his body, their hands above his head.

Never leaving their locked position

_She had fire in her soul it was easy to see,  
how the devil he could be pulled out of me,_

Then she let go of his hands, a fire sparking in her eyes that dared. His own eyes ablaze he grabbed her hip while her back was turned to him in mid-spin and pulled her closer, dropping her into another, deeper dip with him just as close as before, if not closer, but instead this time his free hand gently but roughly made a tracing path along her side. Katara gasped and curved her neck up to meet his eyes, and grinned at what she saw there. Pulling away again, she kept hold of one of his hands and used it as leverage to push their two opposite shoulders together.

_There were drums in the air as she started to dance,  
Every soul in the room keeping time with their hands,_

Spinning slowly for a moment in opposite directions, their elements swirling in the other outstretched hand, they looked like a yin and yang picture from above, especially consider that they were in a wide circles surrounded by onlookers.

"Having fun Fire Lord?" Katara whispered smoothly. He grinned widely and pushed her out, twisting her again before pulling her in for the final beats

_(Ay oh ay oh),  
Singing ay oh ay oh ay oh ay,  
(Ay oh ay oh),  
And we danced on into the night_

"Plenty" was his husky reply when the song ended and they found their bodies mashed together. Suddenly a loud clapping was heard, accompanied by loud hoots and wolf-whistles. Blushing suddenly, they both pushed apart and looked away, scratching their heads. They went to the bar when another song started

"Sooooo…." They both winced and groaned at the same time when they heard that all-too familiar voice "You guys finally gonna make Iroh happy and give 'im some little dance brats?" the blind Earthbender spoke

"Leave em alone, Toph, just" The Avatar couldn't help but finish with a cheeky smile "for tonight that is"

"Yup, after all, it _is_ the Fire Lord's birthday" Sokka stated, much to their surprise. He led the other two off, but not before making an 'I'm watching you' sign towards Zuko with a glare for extra effect before leaving.

"So, what are we going to call it?" Zuko asked. Katara looked at him strangely "You know, the dance we just did" she looked down at the buffet table for a minute before a grin widened her face. Sticking a finger in a dish she sucked on it for a moment

"Salsa"

"What? Why?" Suddenly he tasted a hot, but delicious taste in his mouth. Katara grinned again down the spoon she was holding

"Liquid fire"


End file.
